Excerpt from "An Enemy Called Average"

All successful people are faithful in the small things. There is power in taking small steps.

Many people are not moving forward today simply because they were not willing to take the small step placed before them. If you have a dream to go into any particular area, you should leap at the opportunity - no matter how small - to move in the direction of your dream. For example: if you dream of being a college basketball coach and are sitting at home waiting for an invitation from Roy Williams at North Carolina University, you should know that call will never come. You need to find an opportunity to coach somewhere, anywhere. Find a young person, a young team. Jump in and coach with all of your heart, like you would if you were coaching at the highest level.

Don't be afraid to take small steps. There's something powerful about momentum...no matter how small. Many times the impossible is simply the untried.

I can remember a time in my life when I was immobilized with fear, consumed with what I was supposed to do. It seemed so huge a task; I was unable to bring myself to face it. A friend came to me and spoke two words that broke that paralysis in my life. He said, "Do something!" I'll never forget that day...taking some small, seemingly insignificant steps. Momentum began to come into my life.

If you are at a point of paralysis in your life because of what you feel you're supposed to do, the words today are, "Do something!" Don't worry about the long-term goal right now; just take the steps that take you past the starting point. Soon you'll get to a point of no return. As you climb higher, you'll be able to see much farther.

As you begin, don't be afraid. Eric Hoffer said, "Fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything." Every great idea is impossible from where you are starting today. But little goals add up, and they add up rapidly. Most people don't succeed because they are too afraid to even try. As incredible as it sounds, they decide in advance they're going to fail.

Many times the final goal seems so unreachable we don't even make an effort. But once you've made your decision and have started, it's like you're halfway there. Start - no matter what your circumstances. Take that first step!

It's simple. Grow wherever you're planted. ~ by John Mason

6 SIMPLE RULES FOR LIFE

BY jOHN MAXWELL

A five-year old slugger smacks the baseball out into the field and sprints toward third base.
A tiny midfielder, playing her first soccer match, reaches down and scoops into her arms the ball rolling through the green grass toward her.
A small child on the basketball court receives a pass from a teammate and excitedly races to the hoop…without remembering to dribble.

If you’ve ever coached a children’s sports team, then you know the importance of explaining the simple rules of the game. Initially, chaos and confusion reign supreme as children accustomed themselves to unfamiliar regulations. Yet over time, the once-confusing rules become second nature, and the kids play together without even having to think about them.

RULES TO LIVE BY

Playing a sport without knowing the rules leads to chaos, confusion, and even can result in injury. Likewise, going through life without a reliable set of rules gives rise to disorder, dissatisfaction, and even harm. In this lesson, I’d like to share six simple rules that have helped me to navigate life. I hope they provide you with food for thought as you consider, or reevaluate, the rules you live by.

RULE #1: Put family first.

Lots of leaders give lip service to putting family first, but they don’t actually practice giving their spouse or kids top priority. What does it mean to put family first? For me, it involves redefining success. I do not measure my success in terms of career accomplishments. For me, success is when those closest to me love and respect me the most. Practically speaking, I make sure to schedule time with loved ones before setting my work calendar. It’s far more important for me to give prime time to my family than to “get ahead” by working overtime.

RULE #2: Follow the Golden Rule.

As followers, we universally ask three questions about our leaders: 1) Do they care for me? 2) Can they help me? 3) Can I trust them?

As a leader, regularly pose those same questions to yourself—Am I caring? Am I helping? Am I reliable?—as a reminder to treat others the way you would like to treated.

RULE #3 Take care of yourself.

Doing something for yourself is not a selfish act; it’s a sustaining act. In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relation of work to one’s other responsibilities:
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them—work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls—family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.
I’ve learned the importance of this rule the hard way—through the trauma of a heart attack. If you’re not carving out time to rest and replenish, to exercise, and to monitor your spiritual wellbeing, then eventually you’ll breakdown. When that happens you’re no good to anyone.

RULE #4 Choose a positive attitude.

Happiness cannot be won, bought, or brought to you by another person. Rather, it results from a conscious choice to be grateful for our blessings and to make the best of life’s letdowns. Whatever happens to us, we always have control of one thing: our attitude.

RULE #5 Have a personal growth plan.

The key to personal growth is to have a beginner’s mindset. Beginners admit they don’t know everything and proceed accordingly. As a general rule, they’re open and humble, noticeably lacking in the rigidity that often accompanies experience and achievement.

RULE #6 Give more than you receive.

Everyone must ask for help at some point along the journey of life, but each person also has an inborn need to serve others. When I stopped trying to extract value from the people around me, and instead began searching for ways to add value, my influence soared.

As A Man Thinketh

"My life is an extension of my thoughts.  I am in control."

-by Jeff David Young

We all tend to manifest in our lives that which we hold in our minds long enough to emotionalize. A simple example of this is the person that is so fearful of a public speech that he or she holds in their mind terrifying images of the presentation going disastrously wrong. What this person is doing is instructing their subconscious to make sure the presentation is a disaster. If you fear and visualize yourself blowing it over and over, soon your subconscious will take hold of this, give it life, and manifest it into reality. 

Consciously design the life you want to have.  See it, feel it.  Put some emotion behind the pictures in your mind and repeatedly imagine that this is your new reality.  If you do this in a spirit of absolute faith and belief that this new life IS yours, eventually, your subconscious will take hold of this and your actions will align with the belief and the vision will begin to manifest itself. Once this happens, you will start to see a positive snowball effect take hold of your confidence level, making denial of your vision next to impossible.  

Your thoughts determine what you manifest in your life. You have been given complete control over your thoughts. Do the math. It’s not always easy, and you will have temporary setbacks, but it really is that simple.

Habits

All of the great coaches I've read about or seen interviewed share a common belief...If you make good habits, good habit will make you. This wisdom has been around since ancient times. In fact, one of the best-known quotes from Aristotle is, 
"Excellence is not an act...it's a habit."

Food for Thought...

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.
For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.
I am easily managed: just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.
Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then...do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.

Become a Good Observer

We must never allow a day to pass without finding the answers to a list of important questions such as: What is going on in our industry? What new challenges are currently facing our government? Our community? Our neighborhood? What are the new breakthroughs, the new opportunities, the new tools and techniques that have recently come to light? Who are the new personalities that are influencing world and local opinion?

We must become good observers and astute evaluators of all that is going on around us. All events affect us, and what affects us leaves an imprint on what we will one day be and how we will one day live.

One of the major reasons why people are not doing well is because they keep trying to get through the day. A more worthy challenge is to try to get from the day. We must become sensitive enough to observe and ponder what is happening around us. Be alert. Be awake. Let life and all of its subtle messages touch us. Often, the most extraordinary opportunities are hidden among the seemingly insignificant events of life. If we do not pay attention to these events, we can easily miss the opportunities.

So be a good observer of both life and the world around you. ~ by Jim Rohn

YES WE CAN!

Who is the most important person involved in staging a global economic comeback?

• The current President of the United States?
• Whoever the next President is?
• The Fed Chairman?
• The U.S. Treasury Secretary?

No.

The most important person for the future of the United States and global economy is YOU—the entrepreneur.

You have heard the statistics before, but they are worth repeating as it shows you the tremendous power and burden YOU have for making an economic recovery possible.

U.S. Small Business Administration reports that, small businesses are responsible for 58% of all jobs and half of the total GDP. 64% of all new jobs were created solely by small businesses over the past 19 years.

Small businesses:
• Represent 99.7% of all employer firms
• Employ more than 50% the private-sector employees
• Pay 44% of the total U.S. private payroll
• Have generated more than 64% of all new jobs during the past 15 years
• And create more than 50% the private gross domestic product
*statistics from U.S. Small Business Administration

Carl Schramm, president of the Kauffman Foundation says this, “Entrepreneurs, people who now create more than half the new jobs in America,are defining the new economy, not just here, but around the world. We could call the current era the age of entrepreneurial capitalism.”

This new era is changing the face of what we think of as the entrepreneur as well.

Entrepreneurs over the next decade will be far more diverse than their predecessors in age, origin and gender.

Traditionally entrepreneurs came predominantly out of the middle of the age spectrum, but now are now coming more extensively from the edges.

These are people nearing retirement… and their children just entering the job market.

A Kauffman report, “The Coming Entrepreneurship Boom,” said that the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity for the last 10 years has been among the 55 to 64 age group. The research states that the United States might be on the cusp of an entrepreneurship boom—not in spite of the aging population, but because of it.”

There are a number of factors triggering this. Certainly the current economy and the loss of retirement nest eggs are part of it. But also life expectancy has risen and people are staying healthier and living far longer.

In addition, long-term jobs with pensions are becoming a thing of the past. There has also been an increasing trend to force older workers out through layoffs, buy outs, outsourcing overseas, and early retirement so younger, less costly employees could be hired.

On the opposite side of the spectrum entrepreneurship professor Jeff Cornwall of Belmont University calls the current rise of Generation Y (ages 5 to 25) “the most entrepreneurial generation ever.”

The new face of entrepreneurship will also be more feminine. The glass ceiling that has limited women’s corporate career paths will send more women to the small business sector than ever before.

And the face will be multicultural. Immigrant entrepreneurs will help drive a new wave of globalization.

These are times of great opportunity if you pay attention to the way the waves are moving, grab your surfboard, jump in the water and start paddling like crazy.

No matter the campaign slogan or campaign promise of any Presidential candidate, none of them have the power to change your economic future—only YOU do.

GREAT QUOTES FROM GREAT LEADERS

1. "The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time." ~ Abraham Lincoln

2. "Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward." ~ Henry Ford

3. "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." ~ Mother Teresa

4. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts." ~ Winston Churchill

5. "A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination." ~ Nelson Mandela

6. "Leaders aren't born, they are made. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal which is worthwhile." ~ Vince Lombardi

7. "Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble." ~ Thomas Jefferson

8. "We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face...we must do that which we think we cannot." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

9. "A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

10. "The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty, and truth." ~ Albert Einstein

11. "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." ~ Franklin Roosevelt

12. "Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate." ~ Albert Schweitzer

13. "I believe the unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

14. "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved." ~ Helen Keller

GOALS

Success is the intentional, pre-meditated use of choice and decision. Unless you choose—with certainty—what it is you want, you accept table scraps by default!

The world is plump with opportunity. With boldness and conviction, stick a fork into the goals you want by being decisive.

You are born with great capabilities, but you will not achieve your potential until you call upon yourself to fulfill it. You will rise to the occasion when it presents itself; yet, to assure self-fulfillment, you must provide occasions to rise to.

Clearly defined goals allow you to travel toward another horizon that represents the end of one experience and the transition to a new and better existence. The objective is to choose the right goals, and then to create the necessary causes—the effects will follow!

The DIFFERENCE between what one person and another achieves depends more on goal CHOICES than on ABILITIES.

The profound differences between successful people and others are the goals they choose to pursue. Individuals with similar talents, intelligence, and abilities will achieve different results because they select and pursue different goals.

Each decision affects WHAT YOU BECOME. We form our decisions and our decisions form us.

There is no escaping this; the smallest choices are important because—over time—their cumulative effect is enormous. Never overlook the obvious: The nature and direction of your life change the instant you decide what goals you want to pursue. Once you make a decision, you start down a path to a new destination. At the moment the decision is made, your decision to pursue a goal alters what you are becoming. Just one spin of the lock's dial—a single choice—can alter your life, your destiny, your legacy. Think about it—your goal decisions represent and express your individuality. You seal your fate with the choices you make.

YOU DEFINE YOURSELF BY YOUR DECISIONS.

Your dialog with success is ultimately a solo one. Decisions and goals made must be your own if you are to call your life a success. Always establish the best goals you can. Goals are the seeds of success—you become only what you plant. The quality of your harvest is a direct reflection of the quality of your seeds...your decisions! Indecision is the big eraser of opportunity and potential. Risks and costs accompany every decision; however, the price of decision is far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. When it comes to decisiveness, squatters have no rights. Everyone has an official wish list of things they think are "reasonable." What about the unofficial wish list? The one that common sense tells you to ignore? The list that exists deep in your mind, the list that keeps you up at night, the list that makes your toes wiggle when you think of it? Why not choose that list for a change? How long have you dreamed of being, having, and doing what you really want? Think big, as when it comes to your goals, the size of your ambition does matter.

True Friends

True Friends

Your Wealth Strategy by Tom Wheelwright

Where Will Your Wealth Take You?

Most people dream about being wealthy or play the lottery in hopes of winning millions, but few people actually have a strategy to achieve their dreams of wealth.

I hear many reasons why someone doesn't have a wealth strategy:

- They don't really know what a wealth strategy is.
- They don't know how to get started.
- They think they need to wait to get started because they don't have any money.
- They think they need to get out of debt before starting their wealth strategy.

A wealth strategy is a plan of action intended to achieve specific wealth goals.

The fact is, everyone needs a wealth strategy, regardless of goals, age, wealth, income or debt.

 

The First Step to Creating a Wealth Strategy

The first step to creating a successful wealth strategy is knowing where you are going. I call this Your Wealth Vision.

Your wealth vision is your picture of your ultimate lifestyle. Where do you live? How do you spend your time? What are the possibilities?

Now, we can all close our eyes for a few seconds and imagine the lifestyle of our dreams. But to truly define your wealth vision means being very detailed and specific.

For example, in just a few seconds time, we may imagine our ultimate lifestyle to include traveling. In those few seconds, we may imagine the excitement that goes with traveling, and a snapshot of a place we'd like to go, but the details probably aren't more specific than that.

This is much different than someone who takes the time to specifically define how they see traveling in their wealth vision. For example,

- How often will they travel?
- Who will they travel with?
- Where will they travel to?
- How long will each trip be?
- Will they fly coach or first class?
- Will they stay at a hotel, rent a home or buy a home?
- What activities will do they do when they travel?

The more detailed and specific the wealth vision, the more likely it is to be reached.

 

Avoid This Mistake When Creating Your Wealth Strategy

Many people skip this first step.

I think it's because many people think that their wealth vision is simply to have lots and lots of money, so defining it is a waste of time.

Plus, they are eager to move on to the next step. But, this first step is critical because you can't get to where you're going if you don't know where it is you're headed.

Once your wealth vision is defined, key pieces of your wealth strategy can come together.

For example, when you know your wealth vision, you can determine your target cash flow and your target net worth. These targets can be used to develop investment criteria so your investments work toward your wealth vision and not against it.

 

Your Wealth Vision

Really think about your wealth vision and the specific details. Then, put it in writing. This is the first step I always take with any wealth strategy I create. Focus on Your Wealth ~ Tom Wheelwright

An Excerpt From "Leading With A Passion" by John J. Murphy

Light a match in a dark room and watch as the light instantly overcomes the darkness. Observe the power and grace of that single, solitary flame dancing with life. Now light several candles or kindle a fire and experience the added warmth and comfort extending from that first, vulnerable flame through others. This is the heart and soul of leadership—the essence of inspiring others. It is about courageously casting off fear, doubt and limiting beliefs and giving people a sense of hope, optimism and accomplishment. It is about bringing light into a world of uncertainty and inspiring others to do the same. This is what we call passion, the fire within.

Passion is a heartfelt energy that flows through us, not from us. It fills our hearts when we allow it to and it inspires others when we share it. It is like sunlight flowing through a doorway that we have just opened. It was always there. It just needed to be accepted and embraced. Under the right conditions, this "flow" appears effortless, easy and graceful. It is doing what it is meant to do. It is reminding us that we are meant to be purposeful. We are meant to be positive. We are meant to be passionate. We feel this when we listen to and accept our calling in life. We feel it as inspiration when we open the door of resistance and let it in.

Inspiration springs forth when we allow ourselves to be "in-spirit," aligned with our true essence. Stop and think about it: When you feel truly passionate and inspired about someone or something, what frame of mind are you in? What are you willing to do? What kind of effort are you willing to put forth? How fearful are you? Chances are, you feel motivated to do whatever it takes, without fear or doubt, to turn your vision into reality. You grow in confidence. You believe you can do it. You are committed from the heart and soul. 

The purpose of this book is to clarify and offer ten key factors for leading with passion and inspiring peak performance. These "essentials" serve to guide and remind leaders how they can "open the door" and facilitate flow. By practicing these essentials, you will tap the extraordinary potential in yourself and others and realize results you may never have dreamed possible. Look to any inspiring leader and you will see these key factors in action. Observe the best of the best and you will witness the power of passionate leadership. Make no mistake - leading with passion inspires world change. It is the only thing that ever really has.

A Clean Slate

It is 2012 and we all have a clean slate! Whatever we didn’t get done in 2011 no longer matters. Christmas projects we never got to? Maybe next year... A goal we didn’t reach? It’s over, forget it, set a new one. Changes we meant to make and never did? We’ve got a whole new year to get it done. Don’t waste energy beating up on yourself. Drop it and move on.

Saturday, New Year’s Eve was for looking back. 

Yesterday, January 1, was for resting, recharging, and reorienting ourselves. 

From today on, we look forward.

As you get going and refine your goals—personal, professional, health, and spiritual—don’t aim too low. If you’ve never failed, you’ve been playing it safe. If you’ve never missed a goal, you’ve been aiming too low. Dare to aim high; be reasonable as I talked about on Saturday, but don’t lowball. You’ll only be cheating yourself of the great things you could accomplish if you aimed higher.

What are you going to do with 2012? And what are you prepared to do today?